| Résumé: |
In Ghana’s scrap and e-waste industry, work is mainly informal and dominated by men. Nonetheless, women play a vital but often overlooked role. This study explores how women scrap workers in Suame Magazine, Kumasi’s largest scrap industrial hub, navigate daily realities shaped by inequality, limited resources, and power relations. Through semi-structured interviews and field observations, the research adopts a dual theoretical lens: the Sustainable Livelihoods Approach (SLA) and the Theory of Access. While SLA analyzes women's strategies to sustain their livelihoods, the Theory of Access focuses on how power, identity, and relationships determine who benefits from available resources.
The findings show that women face multiple, intersecting challenges, from gender-based labor segregation and lack of tools to weak legal protections and marginalization. Yet, their responses also reveal strength and resilience. Women rely on informal networks and peer support to solve problems and manage work-related risks. Still, access to resources remains uneven, often shaped by internal hierarchies and gatekeepers, both within women scrap workers’ associations and in Suame Magazine’s male-dominated industry. |